Director of Games
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RELICS OF WAR “ITEM CREATION” CONTEST
Relics of War is coming and now is your chance to unearth some of these forgotten treasures. Every week, from now until the set releases on November 23rd, we’ll post one magic item card from the set. To win all you have to do is design a magic item to go along with the card, using any currently published game system, and post it to the contest submission thread. Each week, we’ll pick the best one and the winner will receive one display box of Relics of War item cards. There will be 5 winners in all.
Entries will be judged based on originality, clarity, grammar, and adherence to the game system’s rules. Entries must be no longer than 500 words in length and must be posted before 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on the day of the contest’s end. Relics of War is a set of 110 unique item cards for use with any fantasy roleplaying game.
WEEK 3
This week’s contest ends at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time, Sunday, November 5, 2006.
Submit entries in this thread
To discuss the contest, see our messageboards.
Contest Rules
• Only one entry per person.
• Entries may be up to 500 words in length.
• Entries may conform to any current game system and should use the current format of that system. The name of the game system must be included in the entry.
• Entries are due at 11:59 p.m. PST on the final day of the contest period.
• The staff of Paizo Publishing, LLC, decides each week’s winner. All decisions are final.
• Contest winners will receive 1 display box containing 12 Relics of War booster packs.
• 1 winner will be announced each week, for a total of 5 winners at the contests end. Previous winners are not eligible to win again.
• All entries become the property of Paizo Publishing, LLC.
• Paizo employees and its affiliates are not eligible to win.
Daemonhyde
d20 Modern
“In the early 80s three little known young men huddled eagerly before hours of MTV and playing air guitar to such acts as Alice Cooper and Metallica. These young men have come a long way from working bars to their current status as leaders in Death Metal music.
Kyle Hiddard, Carlen Grady and Mike Fatten (Daemonhyde) played their first gig at the Dark Equinox Festival (Seattle) in 1986, terrifying the crowd with their revolutionary take on death-metal music. Their first album, Daemons at the Gate, saw no radio broadcasting for over a decade and was sold in only a handful of local record bars. Their second album, Scorched Wings, is still arguably their most beloved, or hated, album by hardcore fans all across the world.
It was not until their third album that the band’s signature piece, the Daemonhyde, made its first appearance. Lead guitarist Hiddard is seen wearing the bestial flesh while playing a flaming Gibson on the album’s insert. In interviews Hiddard refuses to speak of the origins of his ‘armour’, though Grady and Fatten have mentioned in interviews that the prop appeared during their UK tour:
“I remember some witches talkin’ to Kyle in a punk bar, all four of them took ‘im out the back, we thought he was gettin’ a good time…”
Since then Hiddard is rarely seen onstage without the armour, undertaking reckless stunts such as electrocuting himself and setting himself on fire for the entire extended version of Reign in Hell. Crowds have gone wild for the onstage antics of the guitarist, to the point where Daemonhyde’s live performances have become legendary for their violence and only the most hard-core fans dare attend.
In 1995 Daemonhyde was removed from the Abyssal Lords tour along the East Coast, organizers stating that their insurance could not cover the eventualities of their performances. This would be the beginning for the end of the band, for their sixth album, Lord of the Dead, saw Hiddard replaced for half of the tracks by Janet Terra (due to the collapse of her group, The Kin).
The album sold poorly and Terra began replacing Hiddard at live shows. Fans saw less and less of the guitarist, and album number seven (Blood Rage) saw the band publicly admit that Hiddard had simply disappeared completely, not even they knew the fate of their band member.”
Behind the Music – Daemonhyde
Daemonhyde’s album insets state that the armour is made from the skin of a real demon, though few have had the opportunity to study it for long. It is effectively a suit of +3 moderate fortification hide armour which grants the wearer electricity and fire resistance 10 as well as a +4 enhancement bonus to their Charisma score. Its major enchantment allows its wearer to influence crowds of thirty people or more during performances with a +10 competence bonus to both Diplomacy and Perform (stringed instrument) checks.
Type: Artifact (magic); Caster Level: —; Purchase DC: 50; Weight: 35 lb.
<B>The Rabalasca</b>
<I>An Unknown Armies Artifact</i>
This armour is, in truth, not actually armour. It’s a sentient being.
It puts some truth to the underground saying, ‘Old Godwalkers don’t die, they just become trophies.’
Filo, body modification junkie, Epideromancer and accidental Godwalker of the Misshapen Man, spent thousands of dollars trying to capture a magic mushroom-fuelled nightmare he once had on the most satisfying canvass he knew – himself.
After months of painful back-alley surgery, scarification, branding, transdermal implants to give him horns and a tongue splitting, Filo’s fondest wish finally began to take shape. He used his own powers to gradually change his skin texture to that much like a shark.
However, what he saw as the ultimate expression of art, others saw as a significant threat to their dreams of ascension. As he lay in the tattooist’s chair high on crystal meth, Filo was set upon by a cabal of Epideromancers, who quickly stunned and began to remodel him like a second hand car.
Over the next five weeks they continued their work in shifts till, while still alive, Filo was clearly no longer a man. Satisfied that he would no longer be able to ascend, the Epiduromancers placed Filo into storage. It wasn’t till one of the cabal was lead into the House of Renunciation that Filo was sold to a creature effects company.
Filo is now an occasional prop in creature films (the first being his industry namesake, The Rabalasca), and a mainstay in indie horror flicks much like the Wilhelm Scream is to sound producers.
Close inspection reveals almost tendon-like webbing between the breastplate and shoulder guards. Due to many years of improper use and cleaning, Filo smells rather like rotten eggs.
One day, Filo may die – what keeps him alive for now is the amount of minor charges he’s built up over the last few years. An experienced Epiduromancer could probably siphon <I>minor charges</i> out of Filo – in effect, allowing them to do so without actually being injured.
With more expensive movies, bigger explosions and stunts, Filo bides his time till he is injured enough to build up a <I>significant charge</i>. Of course, it isn’t like his torturers lay awake at night fearing they’ll be murdered by what is essentially a piece of gruesome inventory.
Filo is no longer able to feel, speak or communicate in any meaningful way. The only sensation he can truly feel is pain. Whenever Filo is cut, damaged or injured the wearer may hear what sounds like a muffled moan of pleasure.
Yvlaktha (Dungeons and Dragons)
Many years ago, the land of Daphoria was invaded by a breed of demons called the Ba’henna. Armies were mobilized, but the demons struck only at smaller, unfortified villages. Throughout the war, Prince Hazzatti sat in his tower, performing occult rituals and grisly sacrifices. Rumors began to spread that the prince was in fact consorting with the demonlord that sent the Ba'henna from the abyss. Others believed that he was creating a weapon capable of destroying the demonic horde. Finally, the prince sent orders from his tower for his general, Roblar, to lead the army on a suicide mission. Roblar visited the prince in his tower, where he saw a suit of armor made from demon’s skin.
"Come here, my general," said the prince as he smiled like a child who knows a secret and won't tell. "See this armor before you? I have harnessed the power of the most formidable of our enemies within." He watched Roblar's reaction: awe was followed by terror at the audacity of his prince summoning that powerful a demon into the heart of their beseiged realm. Then he saw greed in the general’s eyes—lust for power that such an artefact might bring to him. Not just the power to win the war, but to go on and destroy every last one of his enemies. The prince held up his hand. "But wearing it comes with a price. Only one who is truly worthy can don this armor and use its power. All others will be destroyed." With that, the prince reached for the hide. It moved as if alive, enveloping him, and then the skull crept over his head and tightened the armor into place. Suddenly there was a burst of flame, and the Prince was gone with nothing left but a pile of ash under the demon’s hide.
Roblar was seen leaving the tower wearing armor crafted from a thick, spiny hide, leaving a trail of smoke behind him. He called together his officers. They had a war to win.
Roblar went on to exterminate every last one of the Ba'henna demons that had invaded his country. He then built a tower even taller than Hazzatti's, and locked himself inside. He was never seen again.
This +3 Breastplate armor is fashioned from the skin of a demonlord, granting the wearer resistance 10 to acid, fire, and cold, as well as damage reduction 2/cold iron or good. Its most potent power, however, is not activated until a command word is given. Once activated, the next time someone dons the armor, their body is instantly destroyed and their soul is absorbed by the armor. They are still alive, simply inhabiting the armor. If another creature subsequently dons the armor, they must make an opposed charisma roll against the inhabiting creature. If they fail, their body is possessed by the soul inhabiting the armor.
Strong Necromancy; CL 20th; Craft Magic Arms and Armor, resist energy, magic jar; Price 181,350 gp
Wrath of Tolkeen (Rifts, Palladium)
The war between Tolkeen and the Coalition States has been brewing for a long time. Determined to see victory over the oppressive Coalition, some among the Federation of Magic sought dark knowledge that would grant them victory.
Only one succeeded in contacting those dark entities, Alezhedo Markus. In truth, while he thought he had contacted a demon, he in fact contacted one of those dark entites from the blasted dimension of Wormwood. When Alzhedo found out the truth of his forbidden knowledge, he sought further counsel with a much more terrestrial threat - the Splugorth. Masters of biomechanical wizardry, the Splugorth gleefully accepted the chance to acquire some of Wormwood's creatures for their own vile experimentation.
Alzhedo Markus did manage to get the upper hand, though, no mean feat with such creatures as the Splugorth and their minions. He stole the prototype Wrath from the biovats on Atlantis and escaped through one of the many dimensional ruptures around Atlantis.
The dimensional rifts are an unstable thing - Alzhedo did not escape unscathed. Using the Wrath's natural regenerative abilities, he renewed his health and once again strode into the front line war against the Coalition States.
The Wrath of Tolkeen is a potent suit of armor, particularly in the hands of a spellcaster. The Wrath of Tolkeen acts as a PPE battery with the same capacity as the wearer. When near a ley line or ley line nexus, the PPE capacity increases dramatically. The Wrath of Tolkeen also grants its bearer supernatural strength (MDC damage with melee strikes) and the ability to fire a barrage of mortar-like hellfire bombs.
Such power is draining, and the wearer slowly becomes addicted to it, much like a juicer's addiction to their body-enhancing chemicals. Those that die while still wearing the Wrath become tortured creatures, stalkers that seek out sources of PPE so they can fuel their pain-wracked bodies.
The original Wrath of Tolkeen was lost in the battle that came to be known as Sorcerer's Revenge. Alzhedo Markus died with the original Wrath still on his skin, and it is said that he preys upon those that dare enter into that waste. Many copies of the Wrath of Tolkeen exist, but none come close to the power that Alzhedo Markus had while wearing the original.
Bellfane’s Fall
Minor Artifact (D&D 3.5)
Lore The paladin Bellfane coordinated the defense of Celestia centuries ago. During a tremendous battle that led to the fall of a portion of Celestia into the plane of Carceri, Bellfane led a platoon of hound archon archers into battle to destroy the fearsome Klurichir Tanar’ri, Archaleth. Archaleth decapitated numerous archons and solars during the battle. Bellfane was overcome by a near-barbaric rage and even though his hound archons were wiped out to a dog, Bellfane stood toe to toe with the klurichir, dodging its fearsome vorpal attacks while dealing blow after blow from his holy avenger. The klurichir finally managed to land a decapitating cut on the paladin with its pincers, severing the hero's head at the same time as the paladin laid open the demon from belly to chest. Bellfane’s head and torso fell into the gaping wound as both demon and paladin died at the same instant. The demon's death throes jammed the paladin's body deep into the huge tanar'ri's torso, concealing it within. The abyssal armorer T’chorath found the corpse of the klurichir, not knowing that a paladin was buried inside. Recovering the hide, T’chorath constructed Bellfane's Fall, calling it "Archon's Folly" in honor of all the dead hound archons that T'chorath had found at Archaleth's feet. T'chorath presented the suit of armor to Carceri’s new overlord. The paladin’s heroic death cursed the armor for Tanar’ri , but created a very powerful artifact for the forces of law and good. T’chorath was punished, his reputation ruined forever, by what was seen as an assassination attempt and he now slaves in the basest demonpit armories, making chainmail links for the Abyssal hordes.
Description: Stinking of sulphur, this armor is made from large sheets of demonhide and tied with a malignant skull.
Prerequisite: none
Activation: Continous.
Effect: This armor functions as +2 hide armor granting tanar’ri traits ( Monster Manual p 40 (except summoning ability) for any non-tanar’ri that wears it, except paladins. Tanar’ri that wear this armor lose all their tanar’ri traits until the curse is lifted through successful use of a wish spell. Paladins that don this armor gain all tanar’ri traits and resistances except summoning and gain immunity to any vorpal weapon or attack. However, the paladin has nightmares that resemble the horrific death of Bellfane and must make daily DC 20 Will saves to avoid becoming fatigued from lack of sleep.
Weight: 25 lbs.
Nebochazar’s demonhide armor (Dungeons and Dragons)
The barbazu Nebochazar was a mercenary in the Blood War. Marked by an unquenchable blood lust, the fearsome bearded devil would wade into the fray, his glaive a slashing arc of death. Seen as somewhat unstable even from the beginning, he would carve pieces of skin from the bodies of the demons he slew, collecting the swaths of hide as grisly trophies. Eventually, for one reason or another, Nebochazar’s tenuous grip on sanity slipped. Despite accumulating vast sums of treasure as pay for his demon-slaying proficiencies, he abandoned the mercenary life to live as a hermit in the deadly mires of Minauros, the third layer of the Nine Hells. Apparently quite mad, Nebochazar now wanders the swamps of Minauros clad in armor he crafted himself from the trophies he collected during his previous life as a sell-sword.
This +5 greater electricity resistance leather armor was crafted by the barbazu druid, Nebochazar (Brb5/Drd11), from the flesh of his demonic enemies. The armor was designed to aid him in surviving the hellish bogs of his adopted home, Minauros, the third layer of Baator. Nebochazar’s armor continues to function and provide an armor bonus normally while the wearer is wild shaped, taking the form of +5 leather barding of the appropriate size and shape. It also continues to provide electricity resistance 30. The wearer may use water walk and control winds, each once per day, on command.
Strong transmutation; CL 11th; Craft Magic Arms and Armor, resist energy, water walk, control winds, baleful polymorph, creator must be able to wild shape; Price 168,220 gp.
Demonhide Armor (D&D)
In the year 3628AC the World of Kajia found itself faced with a great threat, the demon lord Kal’koh’tech led a great army from the abyss to conquer the fractured lands still trying to rebuild after the destruction unleashed upon the world by the coming of the false gods. The demon lord, however, made one very grave mistake, for he sorely underestimated the courage of heroes.
Kal’koh’tech’s conquest eventually brought him into direct conflict with the adventurers Sir Alzibard, Broli, Shade and Taylin. The battle’s finally found the demon lord, weakened by Taylin’s druidic ligntening and Shade’s poison, facing off against the the infamous warrior Sir Alzibard. The combatants were well matched but the battle finally ended by a decapitating blow from Sir Alzibard’s mighty sword. However, mere seconds before the fatal blow was struck, the necromancer Broli had managed to trap Kal’koh’tech’s life force in a magic jar., preventing him from fleeing back to the abyss to regroup.
Kal’koh’tech was eventually able to escape the magic jar, but not before Sir Alzibard had taken the fallen demon’s skin and had Broli fasion it into a suit of armor.
Kal’koh’tech’s Spite
This Plate +5 grants the wearer resistance to fire and acid, absorbing the first 5 points of acid damage and the first 10 points of fire damage per attack. Broli has never been a very trusting sort, so, unknown to Sir Alzibard he also built a curse into the armor. Broli took a tooth from Kal’koh’tech, which he hollowed out to create a flask, and linked the flask to the armor. The link allows the holder of the flask to magic jar who ever is wearing the armor, using the flask as the magic jar. There is however a second curse on the armor. Without his entire corporeal form Kal’koh’tech can no longer manifest himself in the prime material plane. This means that the wearer of Kal’koh’tech’s Spite will find them self continually under attack from the demon lord’s minions trying to retrieve their master’s skin.
Strong Necromancy [evil], CL 14th; Craft Magical Arms and Armor, Resist energy, Magic Jar; Price: 75,800 gp; Cost: 48,900 gp + 3,125 XP.